Honnleath

Session 14

The Ghosts of Loonies Past

The Posse-Slayers regroup after the short scuffle with the inmates; with no sign of Bart or Marty, they decide to proceed further into the asylum to try to find the other two blonde dwarves (leaving the remaining inmates either unconscious or wandering the dining room). The area relatively quiet, the party notices that there is a sound of continuous screeching muffled behind several doors. One of the inmates approaches Calderón, introducing himself as Frees O’Malley, and asks if he can follow them around—the group obviously accepts.

The group explores a little bit, unlocking a few doors (thanks Mira!) to find a library filled entirely with dwarf-rotica. In the other direction, a magically trapped door leads to the screaming sound. Grognak tries to cast mage hand and turn the handle to open the door, but the magical hand is dispelled as the handle pushes down. They next convince Frees O’Malley to test the door; he pushes down the handle, opens the door, and walks through. The door closes heavily behind him. After plenty of suspicion, the Posse-Slayers devise a process wherein Calderón gently touches the handle and Gorthaur touches Calderón casting identify as a ritual. Gorthaur learns that the handle is enchanted with an incredibly powerful version of dispel magic which activates when the handle is pressed down fully. They estimate that it has the potential to disenchant magical weapons even just being carried by the individual who presses it.

Grognak gives his magical items to his compatriots and opens the door; it’s heavy and seems to be trying to slam closed. The rest of the party scampers through and Grognak lets the door close heavily behind them; they turn and notice there is no handle on the backside, and the back paneling seems to be made of steel. Also of interest is that the screaming (previously coming from this area) abruptly stopped as the party entered. They find themselves in a long hallway with cells lining one side; each cell has a cot and a chamber pot (as well as some of the usual crazy stuff—nail marks in the walls, etc.), but no people.

The group slowly makes its way down the hallway and opens the next door, only to have a ghost suddenly materialize from one of the cells. Its presence frightens Calderón into aging 30 years and Grognak into aging 10. The ghost ends up possessing Grognak and begins a secret symbiotic relationship with him, letting Grognak retain control with the promise of getting him out of the asylum. He introduces himself as a former dwarf named O’Grotten.

The party (not knowing O’Grotten is still in Grognak) make their way farther through the asylum. They eventually encounter Marty, who engages them in combat. He is able to cast a variety of spells the Posse-Slayers have never encountered before, seemingly calling upon a different style of magic than the usual arcane arts. Despite this, they overwhelm him and accidentally kill him before he can be interrogated. During this battle, they notice a loud booming noise coming regularly from the basement below them, and after Marty is disposed of, they head downstairs to investigate.